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Artyom
Artyom (Артём, in Russian) is the main character of the games Metro Last Light, Metro 2033 and the protagonist of the novel of the same name, on which the game is based. Overview Artyom, born a few days before the bombing, was raised underground in Timiryazevskaya station until it was overrun by a massive horde of rats. Since then, he lives with his stepfather, Alex, in VDNKh (Exhibition). When he was younger, Artyom and some of his teen friends opened the hermetic door of a station north of VDNKh named Botanicheskiy sad. Through this door the dark ones got inside a few years later, and because of this we would be branded as their "chosen one". Hunter had been investigating the dark ones, and after discovering a potential threat to VDNKh Station by the dark ones, he appointed Artyom the responsibility of traveling to the center of the Metro to warn the rest of the people about potential threats to their lives and security. In the Game Metro 2033 In the Metro 2033 videogame, after successfully defending Exhibition against a horde of nosalises, Alex reveals that the true threat to humanity's continued -and arduous- survival are the dark ones, a mysterious sentient species that mutated from Homo Sapiens following the nuclear holocaust. Right before Hunter leaves to battle this new foe on his own, he hands Artyom his Ranger token and orders him, that if he does not return, to present the token to Miller in Polis and inform him of the turn of events. It is this quest that guides Artyom through most of his story and where he is unofficially recruited by Hunter as a Ranger: a true soldier. The next morning Hunter indeed fails to return and is presumed dead. And thus, the journey begins. Hunter's mentoring has most likely prepared Artyom physically and mentally for the harrowing journey. Upon reaching Polis, Artyom presents the token to Miller, and (presumably, as Artyom never converses during the game) educates him on the fate of Hunter and the rise of the dark ones. Miller brings Artyom before the Polis council to present his case in an effort to obtain their support for a mission. However, the Council dismisses the threat because of a lack of resources and men that are already needed for eventual war against the Nazis, and because they underestimated him, assuming that he was merely a superstitious guy from some remote station, leaving Artyom back at the proverbial square-one. Hope is renewed when Miller pledges his assistance to stop the dark ones and save Exhibition, along with the rest of the Metro. He proposes that a mostly intact launch facility, code-named 'D6' can be used to eradicate the dark ones with the same fire that gave birth to their kind. This is the final mission, which culminates in the story's conclusion.Most of the game is narrated by Artyom, with voice-overs during the loading periods. Outside of the narrations, Artyom is nearly always silent and, in many ways, mysterious. In-game he rarely speaks lets many of the characters he meets speak on his behalf. However, Artyom may be the person who tells the Guard"Hey, cut out the light! It's a human". ''It may be the Guard's companion but note that the first voice(possably Artyom's) is louder and more high pitched. As highly unlikly it may be, it might be Artyom's younger voice. Problably not. This would imply an introspective personality, reinforced by the many books in Artyom's room, including Darwin's Origin of Species. In the game, everything that is seen is mostly seen from Artyom's perspective, with a few exceptions. During most 3rd person cut-scenes at the beginning of the game, Artyom's face is obscured one way or another. For example, at the beginning, when Artyom is being woken up to meet Hunter, he is sleeping with his arm conveniently concealing his face. However in Exhibition, before you leave, if you visit Artyom's stepfather's office, there is a picture under a whiskey bottle that looks similar to the parts of his face shown in the game. In an instance where the player enters Black Station, Artyom is seen in third person wearing an outfit similar to Bourbon's--albeit with his face still concealed. He appears to have black hair, possibly suggesting that the photo in Alex's office does show Artyom. Near the end of the game, a view can be gotten of Artyom through a helmet. All this confirms is that Artyom is Slavic and has blue or light green eyes. The view of his face is quickly obscured as you see the reflection of the missiles detonating. Given the collection of postcard on his wall, Artyom seems to be a daydreamer. Amongst these are postcards of Venice, Egypt, Rome, Asia and so on. Metro: Last Light Artyom is confirmed to be the protagonist of the upcoming game sequel Metro Last Light, and will be accompanied at some point by Khan. They infiltrate the Fourth Reich Headquarters, and subsequently escape by railcar due to Artyom being injured, similar to Artyom and Pavel's escape in Metro 2033. In the Novel Artyom physical appearance is never fully described. The only known traits are that he is taller along with having a bit darker skin tone than other people his age and having visibly Russian features. Artyom is depicted as a bookish, thoughtful, and well-meaning character, who's over-contemplation of things tends to keep him philosophical, but who's inexperience often leaves him helpless (for which he often feels guilty over). Most of this is justified by his, almost hermetic, life in VDNKh - since his knowledge about the rest of the metro system is rather rudimentary. Artyom likely has Musophobia, or a fear of rats, because when he sees one he panics and experiences nausea. He was also terrified when he saw a hallucination of Hunter as a rat. The cause of his musophobia is probably rooted in what happened to his parents and station as a child. Original Residence In one section of the novel while attempting to flee from some mutants Artyom barricades himself in a apartment building. After surveying the area he's in he notices a book shelf covered with a sheet. Among the books uncovered he notices a picture drop from the shelf. As he picks it up, he notices that the picture is of a young boy and apparently his mother holding him. On the back side he is surprised with what he finds. "Little Artyom, 2 months old." Although it is implied that this is Artyom's real home, one still has to keep in mind the fact that the name "Artyom" is rather common in Russia. Another doubt presents itself when he shows the picture to his step father when he returns to VDNKh, Sukhoi tells him that he does not recognize the woman in the picture, and that he didn't get a clear look at his mother's face when he saved Artyom from the rats. Trivia * Alternative spelling of his name is '''Artem.' * In the swedish translation of the book his spelling of the name is Artiom. *Hunter is aware of Artyom's marksmanship and tactical skills (in which he mentions Artyom's "dead eye shot" abilities) which is probably why he entrusted him with the mission of getting to Miller. *According to TV Tropes, "Artyom is the Russian masculine form of the Greek name Artemisios, relating to the Greek goddess of the hunt. She obviously had to have excellent aim, as Artyom himself is said to have by Hunter...but two of the possible Greek cognate words for "Artemis" can also be read as 'safe' or 'butcher'." **"Other source of this name is Greek artemos (of perfect health) which pretty well fits the fact that Artyom is a good and sensitive man and thus capable of being directly contacted by the dark ones."